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An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue.

Shepard Fairey: A Warhol in the making?

Is Shepard Fairey, creator of that iconic Obama/HOPE poster, more than a one-trick pony of appropriation and coloring?

In a review of a big career retrospective that opened recently in Pittsburgh, Mary Thomas, art critic for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, suggests Fairey could be a Warhol in the offing. The show's location may have a little to do with comparison: It's at the lovely Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

"There is a case to be made for Fairey as a claimant to Warhol's legacy, making this venue particularly pertinent. He shares the commercial art, underground and fine arts worlds that Warhol broached; interest in contemporary events; appropriation of media imagery; exploration of techniques; a traditional background that exerts a push-pull upon his interests; and an insider-outsider status and strategy."

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Keep up with the art scene and trends in urban design with art and architecture critic Mary Louise Schumacher. Every week, you'll get the latest reviews, musings on architecture and her picks for what to do on the weekends.